In a fiery exchange during Tuesday’s White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, unleashed a tirade against reporters covering the controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father and Salvadoran migrant who had lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit.

“Based on the sensationalism of many of the people in this room, you would think we deported a candidate for Father of the Year,” Leavitt scoffed, her tone sharp and indignant. “This Democrat and media outrage over the deportation has been nothing short of despicable.”

The deportation of Garcia, a father of three—including two U.S. citizen children—on March 15, sparked outrage from both immigration advocates and media outlets. Garcia, who fled gang violence in El Salvador in 2011, was sent back to a Salvadoran mega-prison after being accused of links to MS-13, a claim that the Trump administration has failed to substantiate with evidence. Garcia’s deportation followed a Supreme Court order to “facilitate” his return, which the Trump administration ignored.

Leavitt wasted no time defending the controversial deportation, framing it within a broader narrative of tough immigration policies championed by the Trump administration. “Many in this country care more about this quote, unquote Maryland father, illegal alien MS-13 gang member, than a Maryland mother, and an American citizen who was brutally murdered at the hands of a different illegal alien,” Leavitt remarked. She was referencing the murder of Rachel Morin, which had no direct connection to Garcia’s case, but the comment was clearly designed to divert attention from the specifics of his deportation.

The Shocking Back-and-Forth

Leavitt’s tirade escalated as she rattled off statistics about arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration. “President Trump and our administration will not rest until every single highly illegal alien is removed from our country,” she asserted, intensifying the sense of urgency surrounding the deportation.

While the Trump administration claims to have intelligence linking Garcia to MS-13, no evidence has been provided to support the accusation. Garcia was never charged with or convicted of any gang-related crimes. He had, in fact, been fighting against his deportation based on the risk of facing persecution in El Salvador. A 2019 court ruling barred his removal due to these concerns, but that ruling was disregarded, and Garcia was deported anyway.

The situation grew even more complicated as it was revealed that the deportation was classified as an “administrative error” by the Trump administration. Despite this, the administration insisted that it could not reverse the decision, claiming it had no authority to intervene with El Salvador’s handling of the situation.

The Legal and Ethical Questions Surrounding Deportations

Leavitt’s combative tone continued as Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed her on President Trump’s recent proposal to deport U.S. citizens—an idea that legal experts have widely condemned as unconstitutional. “Deporting American citizens to Central American prisons—is it legal, or do you need to change the law to do it?” Doocy asked.

Leavitt’s response was a pointed non-answer: “It is a legal question the president is looking into,” she said, leaving open the possibility that the administration would pursue such a proposal in the future, despite concerns about its legality.

The Fallout from the Briefing

The press briefing, which quickly became one of the most heated in recent memory, fueled a media firestorm. Critics across the political spectrum expressed disbelief over Leavitt’s dismissive attitude toward the very real concerns of Garcia’s family and the broader implications of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Advocates for immigrant rights decried the handling of Garcia’s case as both unjust and dangerous, while some on the right praised the administration for its tough stance on illegal immigration.

The backlash continued to grow after the briefing, with many questioning the administration’s commitment to due process and human rights. Leavitt’s comments and her defense of Garcia’s deportation only served to amplify the ongoing debate over the future of U.S. immigration policies and the balance between security and compassion.

A Global Fallout: El Salvador’s Role

Further complicating the matter, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, publicly stated that he had no intention of releasing Garcia back to the U.S., further solidifying the international complexities surrounding the case. In a meeting with President Trump, Bukele said, “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it. We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists.”

This comment underscored the growing tension between the U.S. and El Salvador, with both countries grappling with the fallout of Garcia’s deportation and the broader implications for U.S.-Latin America relations.

Conclusion

The explosive confrontation at Tuesday’s press briefing has sparked widespread debate about the Trump administration’s handling of immigration, deportation, and the treatment of families torn apart by these policies. Karoline Leavitt’s impassioned defense of the administration, coupled with the media firestorm surrounding Garcia’s deportation, has highlighted the deep divisions within the U.S. on immigration issues and the increasing role of social media in shaping public discourse.

As the debate continues to unfold, it’s clear that the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is far from over—and its implications will likely reverberate through U.S. immigration policy and politics for months to come.